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According to leader George Williams, England were handed a stark "reality check" as the Kangaroos secured the Rugby League Ashes.

Australia's decisive 14-4 win at the stadium in Liverpool on Saturday gave them a 2-0 series lead, making the upcoming sold-out third Test a dead rubber.

The national squad had come into the series dreaming of sending the Kangaroos to their first Ashes series defeat since over five decades ago.

In the past two years, they had achieved a dominant victory over the Tongan side and a series win over Samoa. But as the prestigious competition resumed after a two-decade hiatus, England were unable to advance further against the top-ranked team.

"We're not making excuses. We've had enough preparations to get it right on the pitch, and it's clear we've achieved that," Williams stated.

"Australia deserve praise. They were strong in defense. But we've got plenty to address. It seems not as good as we believed we were entering this series.

"This serves as a good wake-up call for us, and there is much to develop."

Australia 'Show Up and Are Clinical'

Having been heavily outplayed in an error-strewn display at Wembley, Wane side's were much improved on the weekend back in the traditional strongholds of the North.

During an energetic opening period, the home side forced mistakes from the Kangaroos and had dominant territory and ball control, but crucially did not make it count on the scoreboard.

Notably, England have now managed just one try over two full matches, with player Daryl Clark powering through late on in the defeat in London.

Conversely, the Kangaroos have scored half a dozen in two games - and when errors began to appear in the hosts' play just after the interval, it was a case of when, not if, they were going to be heavily penalized.

First Cameron Munster went over, and then so too did the forward. From being level at 4-4, the home side were trailing by 10.

"Proud for the majority of the game. In my view for 70 minutes we were competitive," said Wane.

"The drop in intensity for 10 minutes after half-time hurt us immensely. The first try was easy and should never happen in a Test match.

"The team is devastated. Extremely pleased the players had a dig but very frustrated with that second-half lapse, which proved costly heavily."

Although the next World Cup in Oceania is just under a year from now, the team's immediate focus will be on attempting to restore some pride, preventing a series whitewash and eliminating the mistakes that irritated Wane.

"I wanted to see greater effort directed toward Australia. My aim was us to apply sustained attack in the game - we failed to deliver last week," added the 61-year-old.

"We did this week. The issue is a minor refinements in our offensive play where we could have applied under more pressure. It's essential to defend both [tries] better.

"Credit to the Kangaroos - that is no slight to them. They perform and are merciless when they seize opportunities, and we weren't, but in defense we can and should do better.

"They will be focused to win the series whitewash and we need to be just as focused to make it 2-1. I've told that to the squad. This must become our main aim. It's going to be a tough week but the side that strives for it the most will secure victory next week."

Intensity Must to Elevate in Domestic Competition

The English side have played a similar number of Test matches to Australia since the last World Cup in 2022.

Yet Wane thinks that the caliber of the NRL - and quality of the domestic rivalry matches between New South Wales and QLD - deliver a more effective foundation for performing at the highest level of the international game than what is on offer in the Europe.

The England coach noted that the packed domestic league fixture schedule allowed no time for him to train his players during the campaign, which will only pose further questions around how the national team can close the divide to Australia before travelling to the Southern Hemisphere in the next World Cup.

"They participate in a large number of internationals in their competition," he added.

"We play 10-15 a year. It's crucial highly competitive games to improve the domestic league and improve our chances of winning these sorts of games.

"It was impossible to even practice with the players. There was no chance to trained together in the season and despite having the full backing of all clubs in Super League.

"I have also been in the boots of the club managers that need to win games. The league is that tight. It's a pity but it's not the cause we got beaten today."